Fishing licence measures aim to help Scottish processors
CHANGES to fishing licences in Scottish waters could help ensure more trade passes through processors in Scotland.
The Scottish Government is bringing in new requirements for vessels over 10 metres landing stocks “of key importance to Scotland”. From 1 January 2023 they will need to either land a set minimum percentage in Scotland (with the percentage required being dependent on the species landed) or give back fishing opportunities for the Scottish Government to allocate to other operators in the fleet.
The measures were announced as part of the launch of the Scottish Government’s Strategy for Seafood, which was presented at the annual conference of the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers in Oban, on 6 October by Mairi Gougeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands.
She told the conference: “Each year Scottish vessels land around £100m worth of fish outside of Scotland, often for species for which we have ready processing capacity. These changes are an important step in ensuring the people of Scotland benefit first and foremost from our fantastic natural assets and resources.”
The strategy document also reiterates the Scottish Government’s commitments to bringing out a new National Marine Plan, and to publishing its Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture before the end of this year.
Donna Fordyce, CEO Seafood Scotland, said: “Seafood Scotland supports the publication of this strategy which brings together a number of programmes and activities and sets out clear action areas in terms of innovative and sustainable practices that will enable our seafood industry to compete globally and contribute towards the circular economy.”
The strategy document also criticises the “confusion” caused by the UK Government’s £100m cross-UK Seafood Fund, arguing: “Fisheries funding is devolved and it should be for Scottish ministers... answerable to the Scottish Parliament, to make the appropriate spending decisions in this area in Scotland – not the UK Government.”
Workers at Hilton Foods
HILTON Food Group saw falling profits on increased earnings, year on year, for the first half of 2022.
The UK seafood and meat processing group reported revenues of £2.04bn for H1, up 19.2% on 2021. Operating profit was also up, by 5.6%, to £41.2m.
Adjusted profit before tax was affected by high interest rate costs, however, falling 3.9% to £34.4m, bringing adjusted earnings per share down 13.6% to 28p.
Volume was up by 3.6% to
271,708 tonnes.
In its investor presentation on the first half results, Hilton said that macroeconomic uncertainty will continue to influence consumer behaviour, but the group’s diversification would enable it to meet changing customer needs.
Hilton’s seafood arm saw the completion of its acquisition of Foppen, the Dutch salmon specialist which the group snapped up at the end of last year. Combining Foppen with the existing UK seafood operation has created a business with revenues of more than £400m, the company said. The group expects the seafood segment to see growth of 5.73% annually.
Commenting on the results,
Chief Executive Philip Heffer said: “In the first half of the year Hilton has further strengthened its position as the international protein partner of choice. We have continued to focus on our strategy of diversification and differentiation, driving a further increase in volumes, sales and operating profit... Hilton has not been immune from the impact of heightened inflation. While we remain watchful of any near-term changes in consumer sentiment, we believe that our international scale, strong customer relationships, and diversified protein offer leaves us well-placed within a growing global market.”